What does the Russian wartime economy look like beneath the official data – and what are the implications for regime stability? In early June, President Putin took to the stage at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum – Russia's flagship annual showcase for investors and international media – and delivered a characteristically assured account of an economy not just surviving but adapting. Sanctions, he suggested, had been absorbed. Western predictions of collapse had amounted to little more than wishful thinking. But if we look more closely at the current state of the Russian economy beyond the Kremlin narratives, the picture is more distorted. This is a classic war economy where growth is almost entirely a function of state defence orders, public spending has reached historically elevated levels, and the civilian economy is being systematically drained of labour, capital and technology to feed the military-industrial complex. In this episode, Natia Seskuria, Senior Research Fellow, Russian and Eurasian Security, is joined by RUSI Associate Fellow Charles Hecker, to discuss Russia's wartime economy and explore the following questions: What does the Russian wartime economy actually look like? As economic strain intensifies and the logic of state predation deepens, what are the implications for regime stability? If the conflict extends to another three to five years, how will Western corporate engagement with Russia evolve – and what risks does that trajectory create for sanctions coherence and Euro-Atlantic security?

Are we seeing the potential for a diplomatic off-ramp in the latest phase of the Iran crisis, or just another pause in a much longer confrontation? The broad picture at the beginning of June 2026 is that the US and Iran appear to be trying to move from immediate crisis management to a more structured negotiation, but the process remains extremely fragile. A reported 60-day ceasefire extension would, in theory, create space for talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, easing some economic pressure on Iran, and eventually addressing nuclear concerns. But the hardest issues remain unresolved: Iran's enriched uranium, the future of its nuclear programme, sanctions relief, security guarantees, and the sequencing of who moves first. In this episode, Professor Ali Ansari, RUSI Senior Associate Fellow, International Security at RUSI, joins host Dr Burcu Ozcelik, to explore the following topics: - What Tehran wants from the current round of talks. - Understanding Iran's insistence that Lebanon be included in the ceasefire. - How much room does the Iranian leadership have to compromise, after war and economic pressure, in the renewed negotiations with Washington? - After spending decades studying the way the US fights wars, has Iran read the US more accurately than Washington and Israel have read Iran?

Dr Olivia Cheung and Lyle Morris join Philip Shetler-Jones to assess President Trump's Beijing visit and the future of US-China relations. President Trump's visit to Beijing comes at a pivotal moment in US-China relations, with strategic rivalry, economic tensions, and regional security concerns continuing to shape the world's most consequential bilateral relationship. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Philip Shetler-Jones is joined by Dr Olivia Cheung, Lecturer in Politics, King's College London and Lyle Morris, Senior Fellow on Foreign Policy and National Security at Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, to examine the significance of the visit, what each side hoped to achieve, and what the meetings reveal about the future trajectory of relations between Washington and Beijing. This episode explores: - The historical and geopolitical context behind President Trump's visit to China. - China's priorities and how Xi Jinping may be approaching relations with the United States. - What each side achieved politically, economically and strategically during the visit. - The implications for Taiwan and US allies in the Indo-Pacific region. - What the meetings reveal about the future direction of US-China relations. - Wider implications for global security, international order, and partners such as the United Kingdom.

Dr Neil Melvin and Dr Philip Shetler Jones discuss Brexit, European security, the Indo-Pacific and the changing global order. In his final episode as host of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin reflects on how international security has evolved in the period since the podcast launched in 2021 and what these changes mean for the United Kingdom and its allies. Joined by Dr Philip Shetler Jones, Senior Research Fellow for Indo-Pacific Security at RUSI, the discussion examines the major geopolitical shifts reshaping Europe, the Indo-Pacific and the wider international system. Topics discussed include: Brexit and the UK's changing security role in Europe. Russia's war against Ukraine and its impact on Europe. The future of US and European security relations. The UK's Indo-Pacific strategy and 'Global Britain'. US-China competition and global security. Multipolarity, BRICS and the Global South. Arctic and High North security. The key security challenges facing the UK over the next five years. The episode also marks Neil Melvin's final appearance as host of Global Security Briefing after nearly 120 episodes exploring regional and international security developments. Stay tuned for future Global Security Briefings coming soon.

As the Middle East is facing grave uncertainty against the backdrop of what is being called the 'Third Gulf War', Ankara is managing an uneasy relationship with Iran. Turkey is projecting itself as a more consequential regional actor across a variety of regional security spaces and is often described as a 'middle power'. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Dr Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Burcu Ozcelik, RUSI Senior Research Fellow, to analyse Turkey's relationship with Iran and the main limits of Turkey's regional approach to diplomacy. This episode explores: · How Turkey approaches peacebuilding in the Middle East. · What Turkey's regional role is across different theatres in the Caucasus, Somalia and Iran. · The limits of eastern Mediterranean security architecture that excludes Turkey. · What British and European policymakers should learn from Turkey's approach to diplomacy. This podcast episode is part of a policy series for the 'Turkey's Peacebuilding in a Disordered Middle East' project of the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) network. The Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin is funded by Stiftung Mercator and the Federal Foreign Office. CATS is the curator of the CATS Network, an international network of think-tanks and research institutions working on Turkey.

The US and Israel have launched major strikes on Iran, triggering retaliation across the region and raising fears of wider war. As tensions escalate around the Strait of Hormuz and across the region, the implications extend far beyond the Middle East. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Burcu Ozcelik, RUSI Senior Research Fellow, and Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a specialist on Iranian and regional politics and an Associate Fellow with RUSI, to analyse the regional and global significance of the crisis. This episode explores: What the US and Israel are seeking to achieve, and how Iran is responding. Whether the strikes could threaten the survival of Iran's political system established in 1979. The risks of escalation and miscalculation across Iraq, Lebanon, the Gulf, and the Red Sea. The prospects for leadership disruption, succession dynamics, and elite cohesion inside Iran. The potential roles of Russia and China as diplomatic or strategic actors. The UK's response and whether it has adopted the right approach. Key scenarios for how the conflict may evolve in the coming days.

Ukraine, its European backers and the United States have drawn closer to agreeing a blueprint for peace, but various questions remain.  Can anyone accept Russian sincerity? How to treat Moscow's demands for territory in the Donbas, and beyond? And what is to be made of Russia's attitude towards security guarantees for Ukraine?  In this bonus episode of GSB, we hear from a panel of experts on the prospects for peace, four years on from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Their remarks were recorded during a RUSI event on Tuesday 24 February 2026: Recording: Ukraine: Prospects for Peace, Four Years After Russia's Invasion | Royal United Services Institute. In an hour-long discussion, the RUSI panellists, including Dr Neil Melvin, Director of International Security, Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences, Dr Maryna Vorotnyuk, Associate Fellow and Dr Jonathan Eyal, Associate Director, tackled a wide range of questions relating to:   What a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine might look like.  The role of the rest of Europe in supporting Ukraine and applying pressure to Russia.  Key challenges and opportunities for rebuilding Ukraine's post-war infrastructure.  Become a RUSI member today to access the full recording: Membership.

Following Washington's emphasis on the Western Hemisphere in its 2025 National Security Strategy, this episode examines Cuba, Venezuela and the intensifying US-China competition in Latin America. In this episode, Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Brian Fonseca, Director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University, and Dr Carlos Solar, Senior Research Fellow for Latin American Security at RUSI, to assess how the Trump administration's 'America First' strategy is reshaping security and geopolitics across the Americas, and what the shift means for regional stability and US global priorities. This discussion explores: · The elevation of the Western Hemisphere to the top tier of US national security priorities. · Cuba's re-emergence as a strategic concern, including energy pressure, migration controls and intelligence considerations. · Venezuela's uncertain transition following US intervention and the risks of proxy competition. · The expansion of bilateral security agreements and US military deployments in the Caribbean basin. · The implications of this hemispheric focus for US alliances and global commitments. · Whether Latin America is becoming an arena for US-China strategic rivalry.

The Greenland crisis has damaged goodwill and trust between the US and Europe and has undermined perceptions of US reliability and trustworthiness. Following the 2026 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, should Europe now pursue independence and begin to decouple from the US? In this bonus episode of Global Security Briefing, we hear from RUSI's Director-General Rachel Ellehuus as she discusses the state of the US-Greenland-Denmark discussions, and the potential lasting impact on the transatlantic relationship and NATO. Rachel's remarks were recorded during a RUSI webinar on Friday 23 January 2026: https://my.rusi.org/resource-library-search.html?information_type=members-event-recordings  In an hour-long discussion, the panellists, including Rachel Ellehuus, the Director General of RUSI, Oana Lungescu, a RUSI Distinguished Fellow and former long-serving NATO spokesperson and Ed Arnold, Senior Research Fellow for European Security at RUSI, focus on the diplomatic, military and geopolitical fallout from the Greenland crisis for the transatlantic relationship. Become a RUSI member today to access the full recording: https://my.rusi.org/membership.html 

As US–European relations face renewed strain under President Trump, this episode explores what the crisis means for NATO, European security and the United Kingdom. In this episode, Neil Melvin is joined by RUSI Distinguished Fellow Sir David Lidington to discuss the growing crisis in transatlantic relations, from the Greenland dispute and uncertainty over US security commitments to the wider impact of Russia's war in Ukraine and shifting US strategy, and to assess what these changes mean for Europe's security order and the UK's strategic choices. The discussion explores: - The resilience of Europe's security order amid transatlantic tension. - The implications of the Greenland crisis for NATO and European unity. - How NATO, the EU and smaller groupings are adapting to a harsher security environment. - The future of the Ukraine war and its impact on European security. - Whether NATO and the transatlantic relationship can endure. - How the UK should position itself in a changing Euro-Atlantic landscape. Recorded on Tuesday 20 January 2026.